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Interview with Calla
Interviewed By: Kevin Serra
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Kevin Serra talks with Aurelio Valle about Calla's recent signing with Beggars, tour plans, release dates and growing up in Texas. The interview took place some time in August of 2005 |
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Congratulations on the Beggars Banquet (Worldwide) deal! It’s about time! You guys really deserve it! How did the deal come about?
We had a handful of labels in mind when we finished the record; it quickly came down to one, being Beggars. When Lesley heard it she immediately flew to Chicago to see us play. It turned out to be an awful show but based on our SXSW show three days later everyone was sold and on board.
Your lyrics and music have a nostalgic and sometimes Melancholic intensity, which makes me wonder, where did you grow up?
In Texas, we all did our time in Texas, Pete (Gannon) and I met in the desolate south by Corpus Christi, then met Wayne (Magruder) in Denton after high school...you always felt like you were missing out on something our only outlet to what we thought was the real world was music.
How old were you when you first conjured the idea of playing music?
Pete and I were about 14 Wayne was the same age when he first started playing with Sean. Pete and I then met up with Wayne when we were 19 or so.
Did your parents play music? What are your first memories of music or artists you were subjected to or exposed to?
No one in my close family played music, but it's strange to see my nephew at 15 starting a band and being inspired by us, he seems as excited as I was at that age...in the 7th grade or so was when I first realized I could start a band myself. That was when I heard "I saw your Mommy" by Suicidal (Tendencies) and "Killing an Arab" by The Cure, before that my impression of a band was that they were put together by the industry not that I knew that much about it, but it was just so otherworldly I couldn't identify directly. when I heard these songs I'll never forget the excitement and rawness of those bands, I immediately thought, shit I can do this!
What type of music did you gravitate toward?
My 4th grade school picture, I didn't know it was picture day, I showed up wearing my Iron Maiden Number of the Beast T-shirt, my mom cried about that. I was a little metal head, till I discovered skateboarding, those were different times, it seemed to be more of a counter culture where as today it seems mandatory to ride a board.
You have a very original sounding guitar style. Who
were some of your guitar heroes early on?
Johnny Marr, Jimmy Page.
Has Beggars Banquet scheduled a release date for the new album “Collisions?”
The official street date is September 27th in the U.S. and the Single in Europe in November. The album release date in Europe I believe will be early February.
I saw you perform recently during the Tribeca film festival at the Knitting Factory in New York. From the live tracks you performed off the new album ‘Collisions” the band sounded edgier, with a deeper intensity. What do you attribute to the heavier sound? Have there been any recent experiences that have affected the band’s creative process?
Pete was back on bass for this record because of Sean’s departure, when we went in to record we had this energy and chemistry that we had when we first got together with Wayne, the three of us always played very well together. So I'd have to attribute the results to that.
Unlike other artists when you perform, your stage presence seems very serene and tranquil – almost trance–like. Often your eyes are closed and you seem introspective. How do you feel while you’re performing?
Um, definitely not tranquil! No, I don't know it depends on the song. You really do kind of get lost in it, that's if it's going well. in the end it's just a performance, you just do what you do up there.
Your music was featured in a few new films: Satellite, Egoshooter, Ben & Holly. How did these film opportunities come into play? Did you write the music specifically for the films?
We scored satellite in order to fund our recording time for "Collisions." Egoshooter was something I had done for an old friend of ours Oliver Schwabe for Wim Wender’s production company. It really depends on what the director wants, either he picks something that’s already done or we specifically score directly to the footage.
The Collisions EP features “It Dawned on Me,” as well as a number of songs made specifically for these film projects. Will there be a proper release for the limited edition EP?
Some of the songs will be released as B-sides in more developed stages.
How was the studio experience this time around? Was it more or less challenging than the recording of “Televised”?
More challenging because we didn't know who would put it out, but overall every record was always in a sense your way of trying to prove something.
Is there a US tour schedule in the works to support
‘Collisions?”
The tour starts October 5th in the U.S. and will go on throughout the year.
What have you been listening to, reading, or viewing as of late?
Going back to a lot of Roxy Music, Van Morrison, Massive Attack ... reading just got my hands on Bob Dylan’s Chronicles, and I saw Broken Flowers the other day.
www.callamusic.com |
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